Redbird Smith was a Cherokee

Cherokee

The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...

 traditionalist and political activist. He helped found the Nighthawk Keetoowah Society, who revitalized traditional spirituality among Cherokees from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century.

Background

Redbird Smith was born on July 19, 1850 near the current city of Fort Smith, Arkansas

Fort Smith, Arkansas

Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...

. His father was Pig Redbird Smith, whose surname "Smith" was given to him by European-Americans since his worked as a blacksmith. Redbird Smith's mother was Lizzie Hildebrand Smith. His parents were removed from Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 to Indian Territory

Indian Territory

The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

. Both his parents were ardent traditionalists, and at the age of ten, Redbird Smith's "father dedicated him to the services and cause of the Cherokee people in accordance with ancient customs and usages."

Political activism

The late 19th century the Dawes Commission

Dawes Commission

The American Dawes Commission, named for its first chairman Henry L. Dawes, was authorized under a rider to an Indian Office appropriation bill, March 3, 1893...

 sought to break up collective tribal land holdings into individual allotments and open up the "surplus" tribal lands to settlement by non-natives. Redbird Smith led a political resistance movement to the Dawes Allotment Act and sought to return to traditional Cherokee religion and values.

In 1887 and 1889, Redbird Smith served as a tribal council

Tribal Council

A Tribal Council is either: an association of Native American bands in the United States or First Nations governments in Canada, or the governing body for certain tribes within the United States or elsewhere...

or from the Illinois District of the Cherokee Nation

Cherokee Nation (19th century)

The Cherokee Nation of the 19th century —an historic entity —was a legal, autonomous, tribal government in North America existing from 1794–1906. Often referred to simply as The Nation by its inhabitants, it should not be confused with what is known today as the "modern" Cherokee Nation...

.

Redbird Smith stated in the early 1900s:
Redbird Smith repatriated wampum

Wampum

Wampum are traditional, sacred shell beads of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of the indigenous people of North America. Wampum include the white shell beads fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell; and the white and purple beads made from the quahog, or Western North Atlantic...

 belts belonging to his tribe. In 1910 he was selected as chief of the Nighthawk Keetoowahs. Previously he had served as their chairman. Also in 1910, Smith and fellow Nighthawks traveled Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 with an 1820 document supporting Cherokee lands claims but the Mexican government did not support their claims. In 1914, he petitioned President Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

 to create a Keetoowah reservation but this was seen as a backward step in the US federal government's assimilation policy. In 1921, a hundred Cherokees from 35 families moved together to the southeastern corner of Cherokee County, Oklahoma

Cherokee County, Oklahoma

Cherokee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of 2000, the population was 42,521. Its county seat is Tahlequah.Cherokee County was established in 1907.-Geography:...

, to create a traditional community — "the brainchild of Redbird Smith."

Family

Redbird Smith married Lucy Fields Smith, born in Braggs, Indian Territory

Braggs, Oklahoma

Braggs is a town in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 301 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, Braggs has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...

 in 1852. She was the daughter Richard Fields and Eliza Brewer Fields. Together the Smiths had ten children who survived into adulthood, including eight sons and two daughters.

Redbird Smith is the great-grandfather of current Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation

Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation

Principal Chief is today the title of the chief executives of the Cherokee Nation, of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the three federally recognized tribes of Cherokee. In the eighteenth century, when the people were organized by clans and...

 Chad Smith.

Death and legacy

After falling ill for 48 hours, Redbird Smith died on November 8, 1918. He is buried in the Redbird Smith Cemetery in Sequoyah County, Oklahoma

Sequoyah County, Oklahoma

Sequoyah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is part of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 38,972. Its county seat is Sallisaw.-History:...

.

He served as chief of the Nighthawk Keetoowahs until his death and was succeeded by Levi Gritts. His son Sam Smith became chief of the Nighthawk Keetowahs on April 7, 1919.

The Redbirth Smith ground is an active ceremonial ground in Redbird, Oklahoma

Redbird, Oklahoma

Redbird is a town in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 153 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Redbird is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....

, where Smith's June 19th birthday is celebrated annually.

External links

• Redbird Smith, on the Cherokee Nation website
• Red Bird Smith and the Keetoowah Society, Access Genealogy